worship
noun
reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
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Worshipp.
worship
American
[wur-ship]
/ ˈwɜr ʃɪp /
noun
-
reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
-
formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage.
They attended worship this morning.
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adoring reverence or regard.
excessive worship of business success.
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the object of adoring reverence or regard.
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(initial capital letter) a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually preceded by Your, His, orHer ).
verb (used with object)
-
worships,
present (3rd person singular)
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worshipped,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
worshiped,
past participle
-
worshiping,
present participle
-
worshipping
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
worships,
present (3rd person singular)
-
worshipped,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
worshiped,
past participle
-
worshiping,
present participle
-
worshipping
present participle (especially British)
-
to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.
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to attend services of divine worship.
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to feel an adoring reverence or regard.
worship
1
British
/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /
verb
-
(tr) to show profound religious devotion and respect to; adore or venerate (God or any person or thing considered divine)
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(tr) to be devoted to and full of admiration for
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(intr) to have or express feelings of profound adoration
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(intr) to attend services for worship
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obsolete (tr) to honour
noun
-
religious adoration or devotion
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the formal expression of religious adoration; rites, prayers, etc
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admiring love or devotion
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archaic dignity or standing
Worship
2
British
/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /
noun
Usage
What does worship mean? Worship is the honor and reverence given to a god or sacred object, as in The holy men would not allow anyone to interrupt their worship of the gods. Worship can also refer to the formal act or ceremony in which a person gives such reverence, as in The family attended worship yesterday. Worship can be used more generally to refer to passionate adoration or devotion of anything, as in I am sometimes disturbed by the creepy worship of celebrities. As a verb, worship can be used in both the religious sense, as in worshipping nature, or the secular sense, as in worshiping the musician at every concert. In American English, worshiped and worshipping are spelled with only one P, while in British English they are spelled with two P’s (worshipped, worshipping). Self-worship is used to refer to someone who reveres or adores themselves, as in The dozens of flattering self-portraits were just one example of the king’s self-worship. Example: My sister worships her cats and is always buying fancy gifts for them.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preworshipnoun
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self-worshipnoun
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self-worshipernoun
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self-worshippernoun
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worshipernoun
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worshippernoun
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misworshipverb
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self-worshipingadjective
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self-worshippingadjective
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unworshipedadjective
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unworshipingadjective
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unworshippedadjective
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unworshippingadjective
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worshipableadjective
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worshipinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
worshipsimple
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worshipssimple
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have worshipedperfect
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have worshippedperfect
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has worshipedperfect
-
has worshippedperfect
-
am worshipingprogressive
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am worshippingprogressive
-
are worshipingprogressive
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are worshippingprogressive
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is worshipingprogressive
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is worshippingprogressive
-
have been worshipingperfect progressive
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have been worshippingperfect progressive
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has been worshipingperfect progressive
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has been worshippingperfect progressive
Past
-
worshippedsimple
-
had worshipedperfect
-
had worshippedperfect
-
was worshipingprogressive
-
was worshippingprogressive
-
were worshipingprogressive
-
were worshippingprogressive
-
had been worshipingperfect progressive
-
had been worshippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of worship
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun wors(c)hipe, worthssipe, Old English worthscipe, variant of weorthscipe; Middle English verb derivative of the noun; see origin at worth 1, -ship
Explanation
To worship is to show a lot of love and adoration for something. Religious believers worship gods, and people can worship other people and things too. Worship is an extreme form of love — it's a type of unquestioning devotion. If you worship God, then you love God so much that you don't question him at all. Going to church is a form of worship — so is prayer. People also use the word worship in other cases. If you love a musician or sports star, you might say, "I worship her!" Or someone might say to you, "Man, you need to wake up and stop worshiping him."
Vocabulary lists containing worship
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Frindle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
CGA plans to expand to houses of worship, stadiums and live events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
"We are delivering the biggest reforms to policing in over 200 years, alongside record funding to protect Muslim and Jewish people and places of worship," she added.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
The 19th Century building has not been used for worship since 2008 and fell into disrepair after sustaining extensive fire damage two years later.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Life Surge currently promotes its roster as “influential voices in faith & finance alongside leading worship artists.”
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
“When you are done, please make your way to the temple’s worship hall.”
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Worship and faith are a fundamental part of our democracy, and they strengthen society.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Worship services are also held on Ash Wednesday in Anglican, Lutheran, Episcopal and some Protestant churches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
Mhairi Marwick was due to teach at the Fèis Thiriodh and play with Celtic Worship at the festival.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2023
The church-affiliated Elevation Worship has won six Dove Awards — the top award for contemporary Christian music — including song of the year for “The Blessing.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
“Will it please Your Worship to hear the noble Hizdahr zo Loraq?”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Hundreds of people showed up for a midweek vigil at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, where some of the family worships, a few days after Guthrie disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
“This is a church that worships Jesus. Loves one another. Seeks the good of their neighbors.”
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
Filipino woman worships green statue for 4 years, finds out it is animated character Shrek.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
She still drives her son insane with the way she worships the professor, but she’s not as infuriatingly unreasonable as Chekhov permits her to be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
But I already know the message in Elizabeth’s sour smile: she worships Hilly, but Elizabeth does not care to share her help with anybody.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
AI imitation is a growing concern among performers worldwide, and the threat has roiled Japan's storied animation industry, whose voice actors are sometimes worshipped as much as their characters by fans.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
His collections were worshipped for their emphasis on individuality.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Mourners gathered at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, a Catholic abbey at which she regularly worshipped and called her "safe haven".
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
They worshipped in a two-bedroom apartment while the group raised money to build a more permanent mosque—a spiritual home that would deepen their roots in their hometown.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
Some of them worshipped nature spirits, gods of particular localities, their own ancestors, and female shamans who spoke with departed spirits and delivered prayers in song.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
A church in North Carolina was experiencing a reckoning, and someone on the staff was like, ‘No one wants to talk. We haven’t even worshiped together because of the pandemic.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
I love the game too much and, if I am being candid, my team has usually been better than the one everyone around me worshiped, which does wonders for a boy’s sense of belonging.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Legend has it that the lion-headed figure protected the country from invasions and was worshiped as a god of war in the ancient Nubian kingdoms of Kush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
In it, a government scientist discovers that a scaly creature worshiped by island villagers as a sea god has grown to a monstrosity that dwarfs tall buildings.
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2026
The only gods they truly worshiped were honor and duty.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Architecture is the most optimistic of art forms, because to create spaces for living and working, for worshiping and governing, is by its nature a positive act.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
“They were standing, worshiping God. Some of them were clapping,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
Society is depicted as "worshiping only power and money, despising art, sensitivity, tenderness, where people ...don't talk anymore."
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
And a growing number of middle-class African Americans are worshiping in more diverse congregations.
From Slate ● Aug. 30, 2024
It reminded her of worshiping back home, offering a small continuity in her life.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Chivayo regularly attended the Johane Masowe weChishanu African apostolic church, one of the biggest in Zimbabwe, whose followers can often be seen worshipping outdoors wearing white robes.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
If that were an innovative idea, we’d have been worshipping at the heels of last year’s equally topical yet no less trite sci-fi horror “Companion.”
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Kingsley Femi Fanwo, Kogi State's information commissioner, blamed Sunday's church raid on bandits, and urged isolated places of worship to "reconsider worshipping in crime prone areas for now until the situation gets better".
From Barron's ● Nov. 30, 2025
Currently, they face the choice of attending state-sanctioned churches approved by Beijing or worshipping in underground congregations that have sworn allegiance to the Vatican.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2025
It is no exaggeration to say that after and because of Beethoven music approached the status of a religion, complete with gods and goddesses for worshipping, a state of affairs that persists to this day.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
